CUMBERLAND — After a slow offensive start for both teams in the first half, Allegany found some rhythm in the second.
The Campers (3-0, 1-0 Western Maryland Athletic Conference) doubled Mountain Ridge’s scoring totals after halftime, leading to a 48-37 win on Wednesday.
“Really liked how our kids responded,” Allegany head coach Jim O’Neal said. “We started out a little sluggish at the end of the first quarter, beginning of the second. We were turning the ball over. I thought we did a nice job getting our composure back. From that point on, I felt like we played with control of the game.”
The Miners (1-2 0-1 WestMAC) led 22-18 at halftime, but Alco out-scored Mountain Ridge 14-8 in the third quarter.
The margin remained within four points for most of the frame with Allegany’s biggest lead coming with 5:02 left in the third at 26-20.
Kealana Pua’auli hit a layup to get within one point late in the quarter.
The Campers answered when Braylin Bosley set up Savannah Walton for a 3-pointer at the buzzer, taking a 32-30 lead.
“We played a good first half and fell apart in the second half,” Mountain Ridge head coach Donny Carter said. “Turnovers killed us in the second half.”
Alco opened the fourth quarter on a 14-4 run, taking its biggest lead of the night at 46-34 with 1:17 to play.
Bosley and Maizzy Hose each scored six points with Hose hitting a pair of triples.
“I feel we got a lot more rebounds,” Allegany senior Amanda Vizza said. “Put us in rhythm.”
Hose led the Campers with 18 points while Bosley finished with six points, five assists and two steals.
“Just people finding me open, you know, just the rhythm,” Hose said of what led to her offensive success.
Pua’auli hit a 3-pointer off Taylor Lamberson’s assist with 27.3 seconds to play on what were the final Miner points of the night.
Allegany opened the game with five turnovers in the first quarter which led to five points for Mountain Ridge.
“We tell our girls all the time, you gotta get square to the basket,” Carter said. “A lot of them, they’re just not getting square to the basket. I don’t wanna say they’re throwing the ball, but they’re not taking good shots.”
Hose hit a pair at the line with 1.6 on the clock to even the score at 11.
Pua’auli took command in the second quarter with three triples.
She scored nine of the Miners’ 11 points in the frame and scored 14 of Mountain Ridge’s 22 first half points.
Pua’auli led both teams with 25 points.
The Campers only scored seven points in the second, but a triple from Vizza cut Mountain Ridge’s halftime lead to four.
“Defensively, I felt we played really well,” Carter said. “For the most part, we rebounded pretty well. Some fouls that we shouldn’t have had, a little bit of lack of hustle back. Sometimes our girls were trying to steal the ball after they got the rebound, we should’ve gotten back a little quicker.”
Vizza scored 13 points with a steal.
The Campers face Severna Park at home on Friday at 5:30 p.m.
“We have a lot of returning players, so I don’t worry about riding the rollercoasters, the highs and lows,” O’Neal said. “They’re pretty consistent, we just kinda kept playing. Counting on each other and I thought by the end of the game, we had control of things.”
The Miners host Fort Hill (1-2, 0-1 WestMAC) on Monday at 7 p.m.